No, I'm not trying to start a relationship column for the best come-on lines to pick up mummies. I've never seen one hanging out at a bar, anyway. I suppose something like this might work: "You're aged and yellowed wrappings look lovely in this dim light, and you smell terrific." But that's beside the point.

I've spent quite a lot of time trying to train myself in the typing and dating of coffins and mummies by their appearance. Some books have been very helpful, including Dodson and Ikram (1998), Dodson and Manley (2010), and of course John Taylor's wonderfully detailed chapter on coffins dating to Dynasty 22-Dynasty 26 in The Theban Necropolis: Past, Present, and Future (2003).

Where I've come up short is in typing and dating coffins from the Ptolemaic Period. Most books I've examined present only cursory information on them. The Ptolemies ruled for 300 years, so I have to imagine some degree of study has gone into coffins and mummies of this period. I've heard Egyptologists say that this or that mummy comes from early in the Ptolemaic Period, but I'm left wondering how they know that.

Any sources out there? I'd welcome any papers or articles people might know about. My German has atrophied horribly and my French was never any good to begin with, so if possible I would prefer sources in English.

Thank you, Lutz. My apologies for not stopping in sooner but I was busy over the weekend. These look like good sources. I've already tracked down places to purchase the three books, all of which would be useful additions to my library.

I only wish my German were up to the task. I used to be pretty good at the language but, like they say: use it or lose it. Unfortunately I didn't use it enough, so I've mostly lost it.

If only that Rosetta Stone software weren't so overpriced..._________________

The books from the "Shire Egyptology" series are very good and all recommended. Very compact with rich images, sources and bibliographic material, they provide information on university level. The price is also o.k. especially if you have no problem with second-hand books buying.

I have the same problem with French. Unfortunately, the French Egyptology tends to publish almost exclusively in their native language. If someone (like me) is interested also in the history of the Karnak Temple and its ongoing research he has a problem if he is not into the French language ...